|
|
UK Union Protesting Over Call Centre Wages
Published on:
A UK labour union is holding a day of action at customer care call centres across the country in protest over what it claims is the exploitation of agency workers thanks to a loophole in the law which is costing workers more than £500 a month in lost wages at some sites.
The Communication Workers Union says that agency workers should receive equal treatment after 12 weeks in a job, following legislation brought in in October 2011, but a legal loophole allows 'Pay Between Assignment' (PBA) contracts, which sign away agency workers' rights to equal pay.
CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: "These contracts are legal, but in the same way that the legal tax arrangements of Starbucks, Amazon and many celebrities are morally wrong, we believe these contracts fly in the face of fairness."
"We're asking companies and agencies to stop using these PBA contracts. Most people signing up with an agency don't realise what rights they're signing away and it's irresponsible and dishonest to exploit often low-paid workers in this way. We'd also like government to look at this issue as it's clearly in contradiction to the spirit of the law."
The union claims that over 1,000 agency workers working for Manpower/BT are on these contracts. Industry bodies say that between 17 per cent and 30 per cent of all agency workers are now affected by these contracts.
Tags: [UK]
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |